There is clearly a problem. The Minister bears political responsibility for that.

The question is how the command structure will be reviewed.

I was not personalising, and I think the Minister realises that. I accept that there are systems in place and that the Minister has to trust in the systems, or else he or she undermines the system. There is a system under the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. However, it is not unfair to say that the ombudsman has been undermined, not by the Minister but by this whole saga, and, ultimately, the WRC ruling. I have been around the courts a little in a professional capacity as well as, unfortunately, in a personal one…

Members of the Defence Forces, like everybody else, are entitled to a presumption of innocence. Clearly, a dark cloud hangs over the organisation, but that should not extend to individual members nor should there be a presumption about them. It is regrettable that anybody would suggest otherwise. With regard to the jurisdictional issue, the Defence Forces claimed at the Workplace Relations Commission that the commission did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. Will that practice continue? It is important there i…

This week must have been a bewildering week for the workers in Moneypoint power station. We were told it was to close. Now we are being told we face power shortages across the country and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, hinted that Moneypoint might not close as anticipated. We must bring to bear clarity on this point. If we have power shortages, we will be then importing power.

There is no guarantee that any power imported will be any greener than the power generated at Moneypoint. To be clear, I agree with the necessity to reduce carbon emissions. It is the political imperative of our time. I will draw the analogy, however, about the current situation. It is like if my grandfather in the 1920s, having read somewhere that tractors were soon going to be in Ireland, sold his horses and then had nothing to plough with the following spring because he had not yet acquired a tractor. We must do…

I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. Like most Members in the House, I would agree with each and every one of the concerns its Members have expressed in the motion about data centres, the amount of energy they use, the cost of that energy, the water that is used and the sustainability of it all. Notwithstanding that, I am quite ambivalent about the motion because I am not, I have to say, convinced by their response. I listened to Deputy Catherine Murphy yesterday talk about what good employers Inte…

I am sharing time with Deputy Connolly. Like my constituency colleague, I commend the Minister and his Department on the work they have done and continue to do in evacuating Irish citizens. The type of interaction he described is one that reflects those I have had with him the past, when he has been contactable late at night when officials are not, and that is not a criticism of officials. They are not paid to be contactable by Deputies late at night. Nor is the Minister, but he tends to be available and I, for one…

I wish to focus on the issue of delays to craft apprenticeships, such as plumbing and electrical apprenticeships, throughout the country. The Government recently announced an ambitious Housing for All plan, but its success is predicated, among other things, on being able to attract new construction workers. Around 27,000 are required, according to some estimates. On top of that, the Taoiseach's colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan, has stated that we need 27,000 new c…

I do not doubt the difficulties caused by Covid, nor do I doubt any of the measures the Taoiseach has outlined. I greatly welcome them all. My question is simple: will these apprentices finish their apprenticeships when they are scheduled to do so? No doubt, they have made plans for their lives, including to buy a van and get working, and ultimately to buy a house as they are building houses. Will they be able to commence as fully qualified electricians, carpenters, plumbers etc., as scheduled? To draw an analogy, …

-----I am not sure how it would play out for the stability of the Government. The Taoiseach might reflect on that and how apprentices who have made life plans must feel. Will they be able to finish their apprenticeships on time?

In 1984, Patrick Nugent died at Bunratty from injuries sustained. The following year the jury at his inquest stated that it was far from satisfied as to the circumstances under which Patrick Nugent sustained the injuries which caused his death and called on the Minister for Justice to investigate the matter further. It took until 2017 for an inquiry to be established by Judge Clyne. He reported to the Department of Justice on 31 October last year. Since then I have asked the Department numerous times what is happen…

What about the Deputy's own intentions?

I have listened to the debate so far and the one issue that has seemed to unify both sides of the House is an emphasis on derelict sites and dereliction. I wish to very much focus on that issue. All Members accept there is a dire need for housing. My county of Clare is no different from any other in that regard. I wish to focus on dereliction because many Deputies spoke about the number of derelict houses across rural Ireland. The only place in which one does not see widespread dereliction is Dublin. Even then ther…

The issue of hospital waiting lists was one of many to be resolved by the implementation of Sláintecare. The implementation of Sláintecare was supposed to be in the Taoiseach's office. It is not in that office but it ought to be. I urge the Taoiseach to take responsibility for its implementation. My question is more specific. One reason, although far from the only reason, for hospital waiting lists in the mid west in particular is the use of theatres at University Hospital Limerick, UHL. The rate at which the theat…

I have an article in front of me from July 2020 by the Charlemagne columnist in The Economist . It states that Ireland has a claim, per capita , to be the world's most diplomatically powerful country. The article cites four key positions, including the trade commissionership in Brussels. Around the time that column was being written, Phil Hogan did something quite stupid. It was not a criminal offence and he has never been charged with anything, but he did something quite stupid and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste had h…

The Minister mentioned Britain being a third country. One of the biggest effects of that is that it is free to negotiate deals with other countries. What impact, if any, does the Department foresee from the deal Britain has concluded with Australia, particularly concerning the importation of beef and the possible displacement of Irish produce? If Irish produce is to be displaced in Britain - even if it is not - live exports will assume a certain importance in Ireland. I do not know whether the Minister of State’s D…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Some of the Minister's responses to my constituency colleague have been a bit short on detail but that, in fairness, may well be because the detail is just being worked out. I also appreciate that the negotiations have only been concluded very recently. One of the things that the negotiations will allow is more co-funding being put into Pillar 2 and that is one of the most essential measures that the Minister and the Government can undertake to support small farmers, the farmers I…

I join the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in thanking the staff of the Oireachtas. I also thank the staff of my constituency office, who have worked hard over the past 12 months. France is introducing similar legislation to Ireland with regard to access to indoor hospitality. I disagree with it here as I disagree with it there, but at least in France, non-vaccinated people will be able to access it through the use of antigen testing. I raised antigen testing with the Tánaiste several times before Christmas. We are still tal…

My question was about schools.